Learning 3ds Max 2021

Get started with 3ds Max 2021, the popular and powerful tool for 3D modeling, rendering, and animation.

Known for its versatility and ease of use, 3ds Max is a leading digital content creation package. Whether you're visualizing computer-aided designs, building game assets, or animating motion pictures, 3ds Max has the power and flexibility to meet the creative needs of your production. Learn to leverage the strengths of 3ds Max 2021 in modeling, animation, and rendering in this introductory training course. Author Aaron F. Ross leads you through the basics of the 3ds Max interface, as well as core concepts and techniques. You can learn how to use its many tools to make models with 3D objects, edit polygonal meshes, create surfaces and models with 2D shapes and splines, and more. After completing this course, you'll have a firm foundation upon which to build further skills in 3ds Max.

This course was created by Aaron F. Ross. We are pleased to offer this training in our library.

Introduction

• Getting started with 3ds Max 2021
• Using the exercise files

1. First Steps

• Choosing a workspace
• Choosing interface and tool defaults
• Setting preferences
• Displaying user interface elements
• Changing viewport colors
• Creating and setting project folders
• Creating and transforming objects
• Viewport navigation shortcuts

2. Modeling

• Choosing display units and grid options
• Parametric modeling in the Modifier Stack
• Cloning an object as an instance
• Creating shapes and splines
• Extruding splines with the Sweep modifier
• Sub-object transforms and symmetry
• Activating the Modeling ribbon tools
• Extruding polygons with the Editable Poly ribbon
• Adding detail with Swift Loop and constraints
• Rounding corners with Chamfer

3. Shading and Materials

• Smoothing polygon edges
• Choosing a renderer
• Rendering in the viewport with ActiveShade
• Lighting a scene with an environment map
• Exploring the Slate Material Editor
• Editing a physical material
• Managing scene materials
• Mapping a material parameter
• Applying an OSL map and UVW coordinates

4. Lighting

• Creating photometric lights
• Setting light intensity
• Adjusting light parameters
• Natural daylight with Sun Positioner

5. Layout and Animation

• Scene organization with layers and groups
• Linking objects in a transform hierarchy
• Choosing Time Configuration options
• Creating keyframes with Auto Key
• Editing keyframes in the track bar
• Creating keyframes with Set Key
• Editing function curves in the Curve Editor

6. Rendering

• Creating a physical camera
• Common parameters in Render Setup
• Composing a shot with safe frames
• Rendering an image sequence

Conclusion

• Next steps